Women’s World Cup 2015: Door Opens for 24 Teams

The Women’s World Cup begins with a doubleheader Saturday and runs through July 5 in six cities across Canada.CreditCreditCarmen Jaspersen/European Pressphoto Agency

By Andrew Das

June 5, 2015

Opening Day

Canada plays China in Edmonton, Alberta, to kick off the tournament at 6 p.m. Saturday as the first game of a doubleheader, with New Zealand against the Netherlands to follow. Fox Sports will broadcast each of the tournament’s 52 games live.

How It Works

The Women’s World Cup has been expanded to 24 teams from 16 for the first time, and this year there are eight first-time entrants. The top two finishers in each of the six groups, as well as four third-place finishers, will advance to the knockout rounds.

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Abby Wambach, right, has high hopes for the United States, saying, “We’ll be fine.”CreditJoe Scarnici/Getty Images

The Favorites

Germany has won two of the past three World Cups and the last six European championships, so it is first among equals until someone proves otherwise. The United States is a natural rival, but the teams have kept their distance since the last World Cup, meeting twice in 2012 and twice more in 2013. (Three of those games ended in ties.) But the days of one or two dominant teams are long gone. France has beaten several serious contenders in the past year; Japan is the defending champion; Sweden, Norway and Brazil figure to be tough outs; and it is high time a newcomer broke into the top tier.

United States Schedule

The United States opens the World Cup on Monday against Australia in Winnipeg, Manitoba, then plays Sweden (Friday) and Nigeria (June 16). If the Americans win their group — not a certainty with Sweden in it — they will play a round of 16 match on June 22 against a third-place group finisher, and will probably avoid France and Germany until the semifinals. If they finish second, however, they may face Brazil in their first knockout-round game.

Is This the Year?

The United States’ quest for its first World Cup title since 1999 will hover over the team for as long as it is in the tournament, and there is optimism that it will make a strong run at the trophy. Why not? The United States has never failed to reach the semifinals, and it lost on penalties in 2011. But its midfield struggles to dominate games, and its best player, Alex Morgan, will be — where exactly? Nursing a bone bruise, Morgan has not played in eight weeks. The good news is the United States has the deepest roster in the tournament, and thus the option to rest, replace or rotate any number of players in any number of ways. “Don’t freak out,” forward Abby Wambach has been telling anyone who will listen. “We’ll be fine.”